Robocall Guide · Answers
What is the $1,500 TCPA penalty?
$1,500 per call is the TCPA’s higher tier, what a court can award when a caller broke the law willfully or knowingly, three times the $500 baseline.
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Short answer
The $1,500 figure is the TCPA’s treble (tripled) damages for willful or knowing violations. When a caller knew it was breaking the law and dialed anyway, most often by continuing to call after you told it to stop, a court can raise the per-call amount from the $500 baseline to as much as $1,500. Like the baseline, it applies per call and stacks.
What the $1,500 tier means
- It’s treble damages: the $500 baseline tripled for willful or knowing violations.
- “Willful” generally means the caller knew it was breaking the law and called anyway.
- It often applies when calls continue after you revoked consent or said stop.
- It’s per call and stacks, which is where large claims come from.
How the $500 becomes $1,500
Every illegal robocall starts at the $500 baseline. The TCPA gives courts the power to triple that, to $1,500 per call, when the violation was willful or knowing. “Treble” just means tripled. It isn’t automatic; a court decides whether the caller’s conduct earns the higher tier. But when it applies, it transforms the math: a claim that was $5,000 at $500 a call becomes $15,000 at $1,500. The threshold for the higher amount is the caller’s state of mind, not how much the calls bothered you.
What “willful or knowing” actually means
You don’t have to show the caller meant to harm you. In TCPA cases, willful or knowing generally means the company knew it was placing the call and knew the conduct that broke the rule, not that it intended to violate the law. The clearest example: you tell a company to stop calling, you revoke any permission you gave, and the calls keep coming. At that point the caller is on notice, and continued dialing looks knowing. The same logic applies when a business keeps calling a number it’s been told is a wrong number. For the full landscape of what counts as a violation, see TCPA violations and penalties.
Why the willful tier drives big recoveries
Because $1,500 applies to each willful call and stacks, claims built on repeated calls can reach serious numbers. Consider the documented result in Higgs v. Golden Title Loans, $577,500, a case built on 385 calls. Attorney Max Morgan, Esq. has also worked on TCPA matters with results including Lucas, $2.6 million, Campbell, $995,000, and Key, $400,000. Those numbers reflect what happens when per-call damages multiply across a long campaign of calls. Prior results don’t guarantee an outcome, and every case turns on its own facts.
Finding out which tier fits your calls
Whether your calls sit at $500 or reach $1,500 depends on the details: when the calls happened, whether you’d told the company to stop, and what records you have. Max reviews all of that for free and gives you an honest read. If he takes your case, he works on contingency: no fee unless you recover. Start with do I qualify.
Related: What $500 per robocall means · TCPA violations & penalties · How much can I get? · Do I qualify?
What kind of calls are you getting?
Each of these is a real, recoverable claim under the TCPA.
Wrong-number robocalls
Prerecorded or auto-dialed calls meant for someone else. You can have a claim even though you’re not a customer.
Learn more Highest valueWrong-number debt collection
Auto-dialed collection calls for a debt that was never yours. Illegal twice over — and it pays.
Learn more Highest value“Stop calling me”
You told them to stop and the calls kept coming. Each one can be a separate violation.
Learn moreSpam text messages
Marketing texts you never agreed to count under the TCPA too. Screenshots are often all the proof you need.
Learn moreDo-Not-Call violations
Registered your number and the calls didn’t stop? Continued telemarketing may entitle you to damages.
Learn morePrerecorded cell calls
Robotic or artificial-voice calls to your cell without consent are a clear TCPA violation.
Learn moreMore on the $1,500 penalty
When does a robocall qualify for $1,500 instead of $500?
When a court finds the violation was willful or knowing, most commonly when calls continued after you told the company to stop. It isn’t automatic; a court decides.
Do I have to prove the caller meant to harm me?
No. Willful or knowing generally means the caller knew it was placing the call and knew the conduct, not that it set out to break the law or hurt you.
Does the $1,500 stack like the $500?
Yes. It applies per call, so a campaign of willful calls adds up quickly. That stacking is what produces large recoveries.
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